Samsung helped transform the Lachman Family STEM Center at the Boys & Girls Club of Newark into a high-tech Tween Tech Center offering Club members a modern and comfortable place to learn STEM after school hours. The space is outfitted with Samsung Galaxy Tablets loaded with a STEM-focused curriculum designed specifically for middle school-aged youth at Boys & Girls Clubs. Samsung also incorporated some of its other technologies, including Samsung 65” TVs and Samsung Level On headsets.

“The disparity in access to STEM education is a critical issue that needs to be address in our community,” said Kavita Mehra, interim chief executive officer at Boys & Girls Club of Newark. “Thanks to Samsung’s investment in the Club and the community, Boys & Girls Club of Newark will be able to provide nearly 1,000 members with the best opportunities in STEM education so that they are empowered to achieve their greatest potential.”

Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins was in attendance.

Newark’s Tween Tech Center will be the twelfth made possible at Clubs across the United States by the partnership between Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Samsung Electronics America. Over the past two years, BGCA and Samsung have created Tween Tech Centers at Clubs across the country, serving more than 11,000 members with a custom curriculum called Building Blocks that was developed by Scholastic and uploaded to the Samsung Galaxy tabs donated to the Clubs. Boys & Girls Clubs of America held its last surprise tech makeover in Monterey, California on December 11, 2015. Samsung has also pledged to disperse an additional 600 tablets to other Clubs around the country by this spring.

Click here to view our latest Tween Tech Center makeovers.

“We believe in the power of STEM education and empowering young minds to embrace the skills that will prepare them for careers in the digital age,” said Ann Woo, senior director of corporate citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “The Tween Tech Center is a resource that helps brings the kids’ learning and new ideas to life. It also gives them a chance to interact and bond with fellow members who share similar interests.”

At Boys & Girls Clubs, Samsung employees have worked together to clean and reorganize facilities, including sprucing up outside landscapes and organizing supplies, to foster an engaging and safe environment for students during the company’s semiannual Day of Service program. Also, Gregory Lee, the President and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, was honored with the William “Jazz” Jones Award at the Boys & Girls Club of Newark’s annual Evening of the Stars gala last night.

For more than a decade, Samsung’s Hope for Children initiative has been focused on helping youth in underserved communities across the United States gain access to quality healthcare, technology resources and STEM education. In addition to the company’s work with Boys & Girls Clubs in Newark, Samsung is also supporting New Jersey communities through other local and national programs, including emPower Tomorrow and its Solve for Tomorrow contest.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,000 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

Peshine Avenue Elementary erupted into cheers, applause and high-fives as Samsung surprised students and faculty with a $50,000 technology grant to enhance and increase science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning at the New Jersey school.

The good news came at the end of a very happy occasion: the graduation ceremony honoring the young ladies who had completed a pilot program called emPOWER Tomorrow, which aims to inspire fourth- and fifth-grade girls to pursue careers in engineering and computer science through role models and hands-on activities.

Designed to introduce students to the people, technologies and processes behind the software and hardware that power their daily experiences, emPOWER Tomorrow was first piloted at the Miller Street School in Newark, N.J., in the spring of 2014, then at Peshine Avenue Elementary School in the fall. Peshine’s December graduation ceremony was made especially notable, not only by the surprise grant, but also by honored attendees such as U.S. Senator Cory Booker.

“The United States must lead the globe in technology research and development, and we can’t do that if we don’t train and attract the best engineers, scientists, and researchers,” said Booker. “STEM education in America is falling behind other nations, but engagement from the private sector, like we’re seeing today from Samsung’s announcement, is helping to turn that tide as we work to prioritize federal investment.”
emPOWER Tomorrow is part of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow initiative which aims to engage students nationwide in active, hands-on STEM learning. The program is one of several that Samsung supports in the U.S. to engage the next generation of female leaders in STEM subjects and careers.

“At Samsung, we believe that engaging youth in science, technology, engineering and math is critical to ensuring that tomorrow’s leaders are interested in and prepared for some of the careers that lie ahead,” said Samsung Executive Vice President David Steel. “We have seen tremendous results from the emPOWER Tomorrow pilot programs, and we’re looking forward to watching Peshine Avenue Elementary School continue to build on that success.”

In addition to Newark, emPOWER Tomorrow has now expanded in 2015 with programs across the U.S. in New York City, Chicago, Sacramento and Los Angeles.